Welcome to the Coastal Rainforest Research, Wildlife Conservation & Community Projects blog, where you can keep up to date with all the projects and information from GVI in Costa Rica

Global Vision International (GVI) is a non-political, non-religious organisation, which through its alliance with over 150 project partners in over 30 countries, provides opportunities for volunteers to fill a critical void in the fields of environmental research, conservation, education and community development.

Facts and Figures Quepos Community Project

Ongoing education support to over 330 primary school students within 2 local schools (2011-2012)

227,400 hours of Primary School students hours taught (2011-2012)

Over 1700 hours of English classes taught to adults and secondary school students (2011-2012)

Volunteer led English lessons with the 5 best students in each grade within the structure of El Cocal Primary School and Maria Luisa Primary School in Boca Vieja.

Become a fan of our blog!

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

In mid -November, GVI partnered with a
local body boarding organization to set up our very first body boarding competition in El Cocal.After lots of
planning and making sure every detail was correct, Saturday came and we were
ready for the competition.The only
question we had: “Were the kids actually going to show up?”There were mixed feelings, but
we went in bright and early anyway (arriving at 6:30 am). We headed into what
seemed to be a very quiet community.We
walked to the beach, still worried the day wouldn’t go as planned.What we saw almost made me cry right then! In
the water were about 20 kids, practising for the competition while the rest
were eagerly waiting on shore for our instructions.

Competitors congratulating their friend and opponent

The rest of the day went smoothly and it was
obvious how happy the kids were and how much fun they were having.As round results were announced, winners
cheered and got prepped for their next ‘hit’ while others patted them on the
back and gave them advice.It was an
amazing sight to see the change in attitude the children had.The same children who we have trouble dealing
with in school and who don’t generally work well with other kids were listening
to everything they had to do, complimenting the other contestants, and most of
all, enjoying themselves.I didn’t hear
one kid tell someone else they were better than them, which is usually heard
about 10 times in a short class period.The competition was a huge success and I can’t wait to see how the next
one compares!

quotes from the field...

"The work carried out by GVI Costa Rica makes a vital contribution to conservation and scientific research and personally speaking, I am proud to be able to say that I played a part in this project."
Michelle Miller, 10 Week Volunteer

"Having a truly incredible time here at Caño Palma. Every day here is amazing and brings exciting new things to see and do."

"The location is brilliant, the people are great and the wildlife is fantastic. So far I’ve seen green turtles, two-toed and three-toed sloths, coral snakes, a vine snake, green iguanas, basilisk lizards, a Neotropical river otter, caiman, crocodiles, strawberry poison-dart frogs, howler monkeys, spider monkeys and white-faced capuchin monkeys to name just a few!"

"I also see loads of beautiful birds every day, including the two stunning species of toucan found here."

"I’m enjoying everything we do here but some of my favourite things so far have been the grueling 15 mile Jag Walk, climbing the rainforest-clad Cerro (hill), and of course the ever exciting turtle night walks."

"Getting to count a turtle’s eggs whilst she lays them is a real privilege, which I’ve been fortunate to experience twice so far. Measuring a turtle, helping tag and doing the body check are also great to do, even if you do get covered in sand and occasionally whacked by a flipper!"

"Walking through the rainforest and traveling along the canals are other things I love doing here, as the scenery is wonderful and you always see some really interesting things."

I can’t really think of anything bad to say about this place, even the frequent rainstorms, the humidity, the early mornings and being woken by screaming howler monkeys just adds to the experience, and it’s certainly worth being filthy and covered in various insect bites to be here.

I can’t wait to see what other amazing experiences 5 more weeks in Costa Rica will bring." Alex Page from the UK, Expedition Member from July-September 2008

“I was impressed with the level of professionalism of the GVI staff, who were helpful, enthusiastic and clearly passionate about the work they do here at Jalova. I have had a wonderful time and feel inspired to use the knowledge I have learnt in the classroom. Thank you very much." Mrs Ali Omell, Turtle Project Volunteer